Numerical simulation of solitary and randomwave propagation through vegetation based on VOFmethod

A vertical two-dimensional numerical model has been applied to solving the Reynolds Averaged Navier- Stokes （RANS} equations in the simulation of current and wave propagation through vegetated and non- vegetated waters. The k-e model is used for turbulence closure of RANS equations. The effect of vegeta- tion is simulated by adding the drag force of vegetation in the flow momentum equations and turbulence model. To solve the modified N-S equations, the finite difference method is used with the staggered grid system to solver equations. The Youngs＇ fractional volume of fluid （VOF） is applied tracking the free sur- face with second-order accuracy. The model has been tested by simulating dam break wave, pure current with vegetation, solitary wave runup on vegetated and non-vegetated channel, regular and random waves over a vegetated field. The model reasonably well reproduces these experimental observations, the model- ing approach presented herein should be useful in simulating nearshore processes in coastal domains with vegetation effects.     

Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax n-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain n-alkanes

Long-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanes in core sediments from the northern South China Sea (SCS) were measured to make a comparison during terrestrial vegetation reconstruction from ~42 ka to ~7 ka. The results showed that terrestrial vegetation record from long-chain n-alkanes matched well with previous studies in nearby cores, showing that more C₄ plants developed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and C₃ plants dominated in the interglacial period. However, these scenarios were not revealed by terrestrial vegetation reconstruction using long-chain n-alkanols, which showed C₃ plant expansion during the LGM. The discrepancy during the interglacial period could be attributed to the aerobic degradation of functionalized long-chain n-alkanols in the oxygen-rich bottom water, resulting in poor preservation of terrestrial vegetation signals. On the other hand, the different advantages of functionalized n-alkanols and non-functional n-alkanes to record local and distal vegetation signals, respectively, may offer a potential explanation for the contradiction during the LGM when the SCS was characterized by low-oxygen deep water. Nevertheless, large variations on n-alkyl lipid compositions in C₃/C₄ plants could play a part in modulating sedimentary long-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanes toward different vegetation signals, thereby suggesting that caution must be taken in respect to the terrestrial vegetation reconstruction using long-chain n-alkanes and long-chain n-alkanols.     

Prediction of vegetation anomalies over an inland river basin in north‐western China

Vegetation cover plays an important role in linking the atmosphere, water, and land and is deemed as a key indicator in the terrestrial ecological system. Therefore, it is of great importance to monitor vegetation dynamics and understand the mechanisms of vegetation change, including that driven by climate change. This study examines (a) the evolution of vegetation dynamics over the Heihe River Basin in the typical arid zone in north‐western China using nonparametric Mann–Kendall test and Thiel Sen's slope; (b) the relationships between remotely sensed vegetation indices (normalized difference vegetation index [NDVI] and enhanced vegetation index [EVI]) and hydroclimatic variables based on correlation analysis; and (c) the prediction of vegetation anomalies using a multiple linear regression model. For the analysis, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer NDVI/EVI product and the gridded daily meteorological data at a spatial resolution of 0.125° over the period 2001–2010 are considered. The results indicate that vegetation cover improved over a large proportion during 2001–2010, with a significant trend towards warm and wet, characterized by an increase in average annual temperature and precipitation by 0.042 °C/year and 5.8 mm/year, respectively. We test the feasibility of NDVI and EVI in quantifying the responses of vegetation anomaly to climate change and develop a statistical model to predict vegetation dynamics in the basin. The NDVI‐based model is found to be more reliable than the EVI‐based model, partly due to the vegetation characteristics and geomorphologic properties of the study region. The proposed model performs well when there is no lag time between meteorological factors and vegetation indices for grassland and cropland, whereas 1‐month lead time prediction is found to be best for forest. The soil water content is introduced as an extra explanatory variable, which effectively improves the prediction accuracy for different land use types. In general, the predictive ability of the proposed model is stable and satisfactory, and the model can provide useful early warning information for regional water resources management under changing climate.     

Understory and small trees contribute importantly to stemflow of a lower montane cloud forest

Stemflow (Sf) measurements in tropical rain and montane forests dominated by large trees rarely include the understory and small trees. In this study, contributions of lower (1‐ to 2‐m height) and upper (>2‐m height and <5‐cm diameter at breast height [DBH]) woody understory, small trees (5 < DBH < 10 cm), and canopy trees (>10‐cm DBH) to Sf per unit ground area (Sf_a) of a Mexican lower montane cloud forest were quantified for 32 days with rainfall (P) during the 2014 wet season. Rainfall, stemflow yield (Sf_y), vegetation height, density, and basal area were measured. Subsequently, stemflow funneling ratios (SFRs) were calculated, and three common methods to scale up Sf_y from individual trees to the stand level (tree‐Sf_y correlation, P‐Sf_y correlation, and mean‐Sf_y extrapolation) were used to calculate Sf_a. Understory woody plants, small trees, and upper canopy trees represented 96%, 2%, and 2%, respectively, of the total density. Upper canopy trees had the lowest SFRs (1.6 ± 0.5 Standard Error (SE) on average), although the lower understory had the highest (36.1 ± 6.4). Small trees and upper understory presented similar SFRs (22.9 ± 5.4 and 20.2 ± 3.9, respectively). Different Sf scaling methods generally yielded similar results. Overall Sf_a during the study period was 22.7 mm (4.5% of rainfall), to which the understory contributed 70.1% (15.9 mm), small trees 10.6% (2.4 mm), and upper canopy trees 19.3% (4.4 mm). Our results strongly suggest that for humid tropical forests with dense understory of woody plants and small trees, Sf of these groups should be measured to avoid an underestimation of overall Sf at the stand level.     

季节性放牧对黄河源区高寒草甸植被耗水量及水分利用效率的影响

研究季节性放牧对植被耗水量、水分利用效率的影响,是探索如何提高高寒草甸水源涵养能力的重要内容之一。以青藏高原三江源高寒草甸季节性放牧样地与自然放牧样地为研究对象,分析了季节性放牧和自然放牧条件下高寒草甸植被耗水量、水分盈亏量、水分利用效率（WUE）的动态变化及其与环境因素的关系。结果表明：在植被生长季（5-9月）,季节性放牧样地和自然放牧样地植被耗水量在5月开始增加, 7月达最高,分别为160.94 mm和145.96 mm,季节性放牧样地植被总耗水量（395.52 mm）比自然放牧样地（348.14 mm）高13.61%。生长季平均来看,季节性放牧样地和自然放牧样地5-9月水分正盈余,分别为13.58 mm和70.96 mm,但在植物生长旺季（8月）略有亏缺。季节性放牧样地和自然放牧样地植被耗水量均与降水量呈弱的正相关关系。季节性放牧样地植被地上净初级生产量（ANPP）、地下净初级生产量（BNPP）和总的净初级生产量（NPP）比自然放牧样地分别高32.54 g·m^-2、5.96 g·m^-2、38.50 g·m^-2,季节性放牧样地ANPP的水分利用效率（WUE）比自然放牧样地高53.85%,而BNPP、NPP的WUE比自然放牧样地分别低13.06%和9.97%。这表明,季节性放牧可提高植被生产量和耗水量,但对高寒草甸WUE的影响因放牧方式不同导致地上、地下生物量分配格局不同而有所差异。     

Enter the working forest: Discourse analysis in the Northern Forest

In 1988, four states in the northeastern USA commissioned a study to address land use changes in the Northern Forest, 26 million acres of temperate and boreal forest extending from Maine to eastern New York State. Against a backdrop of economic destabilization and concerns regarding social and ecological implications of a real estate boom, the sustained deliberative dialogue catalyzed by this study has come to rely heavily on the ambiguous concept of “working forest.” To clarify political and environmental dynamics in the region, we analyzed how people respond to and seek to capitalize on the interpretive flexibility of the term working forest. We combine an analysis of socio-political discourses of working forest based on a structured literature review with an assessment of local peoples’ definitions of working forest based on a survey conducted in a pair of contrasting New York State communities. The first study site represents an amenity-oriented community (i.e. a place where the forest supports a service economy including recreation and tourism) and the other study site represents a timber-dependent community. By linking data from community-level analysis to data derived from a general analysis of forest politics, we seek to develop a more robust perspective. By comparing discourses across differently structured communities, we investigate how local forest politics are mediated by local economic development processes. Our study empirically illustrates contested and geographically uneven processes of social construction of environment and rural development in a region confronting pressures of globalization. Results indicate that timber harvesting is a heavily privileged management objective, as a logic of ‘the forest that pays is the forest that stays’ dominates. Environmental politics in the region, and perhaps more generally, increasingly conforms to a form of pragmatism in which economic opportunities structure conservation planning and investment.     

高寒植被生态系统变化对土壤物理化学性状的影响

在黄河源区选择典型样地,对土壤有机质(SOM)、全氮(N)等化学性状及土壤机械组成、容重和土壤导水率等物理特性进行分析.结果表明,植被退化导致土壤物理化学性状显著退化.灌丛草甸草地土壤表层有机质(SOM)从179.58 g·kg^-1降到49.48 g·kg^-1,表层碱解N流失率为30%,退化嵩草草甸表层有机质SOM减少53%,碱解N损失率为28.4%.沼泽地有机质SOM减少了15.11 g·kg^-1.退化后的土壤土层厚度变薄,土壤颗粒变粗,土壤水分分布和含量出现变化,土壤出现沙化,土壤容重增大,土壤导水率与植被盖度有很好的相关性.研究表明,高寒植被生态系统的变化引起了土壤理化特性的强烈变化,高寒土壤环境出现退化.     

古新世-始新世暖期北半球野火演化研究

古近纪是现代气候和植被形成的关键过渡期, 而野火活动与气候、植被和碳循环等存在耦合关系。开展古新世-始新世(66~34 Ma)3个特征暖期, 即古新世-始新世极热事件(PETM, 约55.9 Ma)、早始新世气候适宜期(EECO, 53.3~49.1 Ma)、中始新世气候适宜期(MECO, 约40.5~40.1 Ma)的野火活动研究, 对于揭示气候和植被变化特征及其影响具有重要意义。本研究基于蒙古高原南部二连盆地古新世-始新世野火记录, 并结合北半球该时段其他12个地点的野火研究数据, 从长尺度地质记录视角, 重建北半球野火活动特征与演变, 并探讨其驱动机制。研究结果显示古新世-始新世不同特征暖期野火发生规模和强度存在差异, PETM极端暖期较EECO和MECO暖期野火强度更大, 但不十分显著。古新世-始新世暖期并没有持续的、大规模的野火发生, 呈现"低野火状态", 总体不支持强调燃烧活动影响全球碳循环的"野火假说"。通过野火发生与温度、降水、植被以及CO2浓度等环境因子之间的关系分析, 对"古近纪低火谜题"进行初探, 认为古新世-始新世气候的季节性并不分明, 较短的干季不利于可燃"燃料"和潜在火源的形成, 很可能是新生代早期"低野火"的主因。     

Investigating parabolic and nebkha dune formation using a cellular automaton modelling approach

Vegetation plays an important role in shaping the morphology of aeolian dune landscapes in coastal and semi‐arid environments, where ecogeomorphic interactions are complex and not well quantified. We present a Discrete ECogeomorphic Aeolian Landscape model (DECAL) capable of simulating realistic looking vegetated dune forms, permitting exploration of relationships between ecological and morphological processes at different temporal and spatial scales. The cellular automaton algorithm applies three simple rules that lead to self‐organization of complex dune environments, including nebkhas with distinctive deposition tails that form in association with mesquite‐type shrubs, and hairpin (long‐walled) parabolic dunes with trailing ridges that evolve from blowouts in association with vegetation succession. Changing the conditions of simulations produces differing landscapes that conform qualitatively to observations of real‐world dunes. The model mimics the response of the morphology to changes in sediment supply, vegetation distribution, density and growth characteristics, as well as initial disturbances. The introduction of vegetation into the model links spatial and temporal scales, previously dimensionless in bare‐sand cellular automata. Grid resolutions coarser than the representative size of the modelled vegetation elements yield similar morphologies, but when cell size is reduced to much smaller dimensions, the resultant landscape evolution is dramatically different. The model furthermore demonstrates that the relative response characteristics of the multiple vegetation types and their mutual feedback with geomorphological processes impart a significant influence on landscape equilibria, suggesting that vegetation induces a characteristic length scale in aeolian environments. This simple vegetated dune model illustrates the power and versatility of a cellular automaton approach for exploring the effects of interactions between ecology and geomorphology in complex earth surface systems. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.